Twenty years later, Americans still feel the personal impact of 9/11
September 8— Two decades on, Americans see September 11th as one of the most influential and personally impactful events of the 21st century. The overwhelming majority of those who were alive when it happened say that they can still remember exactly where they were or what they were doing when it happened, again underlining just how historically and culturally significant 9/11 was.
On the economic front, a deep dive on unemployed Americans shows that they are more likely to be concerned about the pandemic than the employed. Meanwhile, concerns about the cost of basic goods remains high – except for electricity.
Further down, we get into how Americans prefer to listen to music and what their favorite musical decade is. Plus, how they feel about their tattoos.
Remembering 9/11:
- Pandemic and 9/11 rank as the top life-changing events of the 21st century
- Memory of 9/11 still lingers
State of the economy:
- People who are currently laid off or on furlough are least likely to be vaccinated
- Consumers report similar price pressures from last month for all goods except electricity
Cultural flashpoints:
- Most Americans listen to music on the radio— except Gen Z
- Americans feel that the decades when they were young produced the best music
- Americans don’t regret their tattoos
Pandemic and 9/11 rank as the top life-changing events of the 21st century
When reflecting back on the past two decades, Americans point to the COVID-19 pandemic and the September 11th terrorist attacks as having had the biggest impact on them personally.
In these responses, some recency bias is doubtless at play. Nevertheless, that 9/11 still ranks so highly speaks to the enduring impact it had on the country. With the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 approaching on Saturday, its imprint is still indelibly there for those who were alive to witness it.
Among younger generations (those age 18-29), COVID is by far the most significant event of their lives, well ahead of other events, like 9/11, the election of Presidents Trump and Obama, and the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
Most American adults who were alive when 9/11 happened say they remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when it happened. Like the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the events of 9/11 were shocking and consequential enough to fix the details in people’s minds of where they were or what they were doing when they first heard about it.
This type of recall is known as a flashbulb memory. Over time, the accuracy of flashbulb memories degrade, just as the memory of less pivotal events fade away. Yet research indicates that people continue to feel much more confident about their ability to accurately recall the details of a flashbulb memory than other events.
People who are currently laid off or on furlough are least likely to be vaccinated
People who are currently laid off or on furlough are much less likely to be vaccinated than their employed or retired counterparts, according to analysis from the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
Three in five Americans currently laid off or on furlough are vaccinated, 23-points behind retired people, 11-points behind the fully employed and 13-points behind people who are part-time workers. One in four people who are laid-off or on furlough are on the fence about the vaccine.
Despite this, concern remains relatively consistent across all groups, with retired people slightly more concerned than those in the labor force or unemployed.
Consumers report similar price pressures from last month for all goods except electricity
Most Americans feel that basic household goods, like electricity, food, and gasoline are more expensive now than they were at the beginning of the year, findings that are largely unchanged from last month, according to the Ipsos Consumer Tracker.
Electricity is the one good where fewer Americans now believe that the cost is higher than it was at the beginning of the year. Back in July, 52% of people felt this way. Now, 46% do.
One reason for this change could be the seasonality of electricity bills. Many experience higher bills during the height of summer when energy demands are higher.
Most Americans listen to music on the radio— except Gen Z
Over half of Americans listen to music using FM Radio, making this medium the most popular way for Americans to listen to music, recent Ipsos polling finds.
Though, these topline findings mask vast differences by age. While nearly three in five Gen X’ers (60%) and Baby Boomers (62%) listen to FM radio, only 48% of Millennials and 38% of Gen Z’ers do.
Millennials are split between FM Radio and on-demand streaming services, like Spotify and Apple Music, while Gen Z’ers decisively favor on-demand streaming for listening to music.
Other older mediums for listening to music, like CDs or records, still win some favor across all generations, despite the fractured music landscape.
Most Americans think that the best music happened when they were young
Overall, more Americans say their favorite musical decade was the 1980s, closely followed by the 1970s. However, on an individual basis, Americans tend to think the best musical decade occurred when they were young. As a group, Boomers favor the 1960s and 1970s, Gen X leans strongly toward the 1980s, millennials the 1990s, and Gen Z the early aughts.
Americans don’t regret their tattoos
Of the one in five Americans who have a tattoo, very few regret their decision to get one. Further findings suggest that the pandemic inspired at least some Americans to get a tattoo for the first time. Overall, 6% of tattooed Americans got theirs sometime after March 2020.
